Posts by Gareth Ward
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Full details from Farrar up now.
Still reading... -
Now there's an interesting question re Rankin:
Why was she selected by Bennett with very little consultation when she WASN'T one of the four people recommended for the job? -
Try telling that to a Nactional government and let's see what answer you get...
If it ever comes to that I'd really like to actually. If they think there is a case for privatisation I'd like to ask them to explain it to me!
But that's all supposition as it hasn't been mooted at all. -
Actually, I wonder what his mobile provider sees an inbound Skype call as? Do they charge interconnection for it?
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Paul, it does seem that the Bill and ... (what's it called?) interconnection agreements in the US are the way forward here (given our crazy off-net pricing). They all seem to be roughly paying out what they bring in so just internalise it.
Although, it does lead to the odd situation that I can't call my brother in Brooklyn because it costs him money to pay for the inbound interconnection fee.
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I'm just after something approaching a halfway decent work phone given our phones are all current Telecom... well, sorry, but... rubbish.
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But but but... ahhh crap maybe you're right and they'd just do it.
But the case for privatising monopoly delivery of an essential service just seems nonexistent. It wouldn't be cheaper than current provision (which is setup commercially so is not being subsidised), and the only argument for privatising a service like that is the private vendor would run it more efficiently through being exposed to commercial pressures and would therefore deliver it for lower cost. That won't happen in a non-competitive setup. If you then setup regulatory arms to try and counter that then you've just added the cost of bureacracy and lost your efficiency argument.
Even if the Council or Government knew this and privatised anyway, the opposition to it would be so easy to muster?
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The move we MAY see in water provision is public asset ownership, private asset management. Where water management companies bid for contracts to run and bill services on the water pipes still owned by the council.
It seems like a more spinnable/saleable story. -
Graeme, is your position that overall Family First are a worthwhile organisation doing good things?
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Well, just to restate it, as a campaign to get domestic tourists to consider the Auckland CBD, it seems fine to me.
I fail to see how you would do a dramatically better job of encouraging people to it - it covers the boats, food, fashion, art etc. That seems like the right sort of things to be targeting and you have to be focussed on things that people will feel they can't get all together elsewhere.Stylistically it may not be ground-breaking but it's not awful. It's certainly a pretty direct copy of the Escape to Wellington one - although as someone said with "celebrity" faces chucked in.